Letters To The Editor Science, Morality

In his Jan. 13 Op-ed Page article, Rivers Singleton Jr. devalued the support that science can give us in upholding moral values, by presenting the usual confusion of science with technology.

Science is consistent with moral values based on humanity. This does not mean that ancient wisdom, religious or not, cannot be accepted and utilized; it implies only that such morality, when accepted, is accepted because of its worth and appropriateness for human beings. Because science supports the basic equality of individuals and requires freedom of speech and expression, it is entirely consistent with the bases for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

One final misstatement in the article was that "assertions or denials of a deity . . . are fundamentally religious and not scientific claims." While belief in one or more deities may be a religious claim, disbelief is simply a statement of the scientific requirement for evidence.